10-week Long-Term Care – Uncertified Health Care Aide / Extended Orientation Program

Northern Health Region in partnership with the Northern Manitoba Sector Council celebrates the first graduates of the 10-week Long-Term Care – Uncertified Health Care Aide / Extended Orientation program that was delivered as a pilot project in The Pas. Graduates of the program have been offered permanent positions at the St. Paul’s Long Term Care home facility. The program curriculum was developed by the Northern Health Region to alleviate the critical shortage of Health Care Support Workers in the north. The timing of the delivery could not have come at a more significant time due to the immediate health care needs magnified by the pandemic.

Sharon Lidbetter, Project Coordinator for the Northern Manitoba Sector Council states” the Sector Council recognized the importance of engaging in such an essential partnership whereby we wanted to assist the NHR with their Human Resource needs during the middle of a pandemic; we understood NHR resources would be stretched thin. The graduates and the instructor really stepped up to the plate at a time when the vaccine was not yet available, putting themselves and families at risk. This attests to their commitment to not only wanting to help their community but also their willingness to assist the needs of the residents when needed most.”

The five graduates of the program will not only have the necessary skills to support the needs of patient care but also assist in alleviating the critical shortage of Health Care Support Workers in long term care homes.

Graduates engaged in work-integrated learning over seen by an instructor. This provided an opportunity to apply their self-directed learning from their studies to relevant hands-on experience right on sight in the care home. Trainees would have to meet the competencies of the program and complete a 2-week practicum component at the end of the training. A mentor was provided to the trainees and will stay in place well into their new roles of employment and will provide any extra supports that maybe needed to assist with staff retention and progression in the health care field.